Ola raises $2B from SoftBank, Tencent, and others: Report

Cab aggregator Ola (ANI Technologies) has raised yet another round of funding of $2 billion from a group of investors including its existing investors SoftBank Group Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd, reports Bloomberg. When queried for a confirmation, an Ola spokesperson declined to comment.

According to the publication, other investors include UC-RNT fund, a joint venture between Ratan Tata’s RNT Associates and the University of California, and several US institutional investors. However, the report says that the funding rounds is not over yet, and the amount could change, hence the valuation of the total funding raised in unclear as of now.

Previous funding

Ola has been on funding spree,,the latest financing is the second-largest funding round in an Indian startup, after Flipkart, according to Bloomberg.

The fresh round of equips Ola in its battle against Uber in India, and many other eyeing this space. In May this year, Uber infused Rs 51.64 crore into its India operations.

Ola entered the market in early 2011, and had a market share of only 5-6% in the year 2012-13. The share increased to 61-62% in the year 2015-16 (till September 2015), taking the lead in September 2014. Ola’s growth in January 2015 was 75-76%, as compared to 0-1% in June 2012.

Uber, starting operations in Bangalore in August 2013, had a market share of less than 1-2% in 2013-14, which increased to 9-10% in the year 2014-15. Uber maintained the second position from March 2015 onwards.